Last month—June 15th through the 18th—Rotary International (RI), a service organization with 1.2 million members in over 32,000 clubs located in more than 200 countries, held its annual convention, which was attended by more than 19,000 Rotarians, participants of Rotary youth programs, and other guests. With a larger emphasis than ever before in the organization’s history, microcredit was promoted as an attractive cause for Rotarians around the world to support by establishing sustainable microfinance projects and partnering with existing microfinance institutions (MFIs). Behind the push is the Rotarian Action Group for Microcredit (RAGM), a voluntary association of Rotarians aiming to educate the general membership, standardize Rotarian/MFI partnerships, and ultimately increase Rotarian involvement in microfinance activities for the long-term. Continue Reading »

Authored by Mr. Roger L. Martin, the Dean of the University of Toronto’s (U of T) Rotman School of Management (Rotman) and a board member at the Skoll Foundation, and Mrs. Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, published Spring 2007 in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), a publication of the Center for Social Innovation (CSI) at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), 13 pages, available at http://www.skollfoundation.org/media/skoll_docs/2007SP_feature_martinosberg.pdf Continue Reading »

Authored by Scott B. Gaul, the Microfinance Information eXchange’s (MIX) Product Development Manager and Lead Analyst for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA), and Olga Tomilova, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s (CGAP) Consultant for ECA, a joint publication of the Central Asian Microfinance Center (CAC), CGAP, the Microfinance Centre for Central & Eastern Europe and the New Independent States (MFC), and the MIX, released February 2008, 20 pages, available at http://www.mixmbb.org/Publications/002-REG/EASTERN%20EUROPE%20AND%20CENTRAL%20ASIA%20(ECA)/02-Central%20Asia%20Benchmarking%20Reports/Central%20Asia%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20English%20-%20Final.pdf Continue Reading »

Boulder-Bergamo Forum on Access to Financial Services: Expanding the Rural Frontier

September 18-20, 2008, University of Bergamo, Italy

The Boulder Institute of Microfinance (BI), a nonprofit organization which grew out of microfinance training programs initiated in 1995, and the Università Degli Studi di Bergamo (University of Bergamo), an institution outside of Milan, Italy that offers a one-year Master on Microfinance program, will jointly host “Boulder-Bergamo Forum on Access to Financial Services: Expanding the Rural Frontier,” a conference focusing on rural financial services meant to gather researchers, government leaders, managers of financial institutions, and representatives of international organizations for dialogue on the future of the sector. The Rural Finance Program (RFP) at The Ohio State University’s (OSU) Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE) will support the conference. Continue Reading »

Prepared by the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC), an organization supporting microfinance institutions (MFIs) by providing knowledge management, policy advocacy, and technical services since July 2002, in cooperation with the Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX), released February 2008, 20 pages, available at http://www.microfinancegateway.org/files/48948_file_Microfi_nance_in_Russia___Benchmarks_and_Analysis_2006.pdf

Continue Reading »

Integrating Microfinance in Development

September 1-5, 2008, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom

The Boulder Institute of Microfinance (BI), a nonprofit organization which grew out of microfinance training programs initiated in 1995, and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), a research organization connected with the University of Sussex, will jointly host “Integrating Microfinance in Development,” a training program designed to educate practitioners involved in a wide range of development fields on the principles of a sustainable microfinance program and how to incorporate it in their operations. Continue Reading »

Practical Skills and Tools for Microfinance Managers & Consultants

September 8-19, 2008, Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa, Mombasa, Kenya

Incorporated in Nairobi, Kenya, the School of Applied Microfinance (SAM) will hold its annual two-week training program in September, which will focus on capacity building for employees and partners of microfinance institutions (MFIs) located in Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Sub-continent. The curriculum will include daily plenary presentations on macro issues such as e-banking’s effect on microfinance and the ongoing commercialization of the sector. Each day, the plenary presentations will be followed by two technical training sessions chosen by the participants from a list of 14 topics. The technical training sessions, which are all still open according to SAM’s web site, will include subjects such as Process Mapping, Product Costing, Customer Service, and Corporate Branding & Identity. Each session is one week in duration and participants can choose no more than four. Finally, participants will make presentations and hold discussions on case studies from their own MFIs in the evenings. Continue Reading »

William “Bill” Drayton is the CEO of Ashoka and in 1980 founded the nonprofit—or “citizen organization” as the institution prefers to refer to itself—with the aspiration of supporting “social entrepreneurs” in the world; a term used by Ashoka to describe the growing number of engaged citizens who are tackling global problems with innovative, system-wide solutions, profitable and not. Ashoka’s main avenue for affecting change in the world is through its Ashoka Fellows program which identifies social entrepreneurs worldwide and provides a powerful network of assistance, mentorship, and finances to enable the fellows to truly be “changemakers.”

Continue Reading »

Shafiqual Haque Choudhury is the founder and President of the Association for Social Advancement (ASA), a microfinance institution (MFI) based in Dhaka, Bangladesh serving over 5.5 million borrowers and reporting a loan portfolio of BDT 32.4 billion, or USD 482.5 million, in April 2008. Additionally, he recently served as an Advisor to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh (December 2006 through 2007) with responsibility for the Ministry of Agriculture, Youth & Sports, and Cultural Affairs.

Continue Reading »

Micro Banking Summer Academy

August 22 – September 5, 2008, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Bad Homburg and Frankfurt, Germany

The Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (FSFM), previously known as Bankakademie, will hold its annual Micro Banking Summer Academy (MBSA) in August and September. Meant for managers of microfinance institutions (MFIs), the MBSA will be comprised of three sessions. The first will be an introductory weekend course entitled “Microfinance Principles” (August 22nd – 24th) designed for new practitioners and as a refresher for more experienced managers. Topics covered will include microfinance best practice, operational principles of MFIs, loan management, and financial performance. The first weekend agenda can be found here.

Continue Reading »

Legally incorporated in Oranjestad, Aruba, the West Africa Sustainable Economic Initiative (WASEI) is a for-profit company which will establish microfinance institutions (MFIs) as well as business incubators to complement the former by training and supporting the borrowers. WASEI is currently offering 4,505,000 Class B Common Stock Shares at USD 1 per share through the MicroFinance Exchange (MFDAQ) as part of the first round in a long-term capitalization effort. As stated in a memorandum available to registered users of MFDAQ, the minimum subscription is 500 shares, investors will have full dividend rights, and those shareholders who purchase interests during the current round of offerings will be granted half the amount that they own, at no additional cost, during round two—to take place at the beginning of year three of operations. Voting rights are reserved for 5,000 Class A shares, all of which will be retained by Micro Venture Support (MVS), the nonprofit parent organization of WASEI. All interested investors must register on http://mfdaq.com/. At the time of writing, a balance of 2,997,500 shares remained. Continue Reading »

Based in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Akiba Commercial Bank (ACB) will receive a total of USD 5.2 million in a capitalization program which includes investments from ACCION Investments in Microfinance (ACCION Investments), the Hivos-Triodos Fund Foundation (HTF), Incofin, Inter-Consult, the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), the Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF), the Triodos-Doen Foundation (TDF), and nearly 70 private Tanzanian individuals. The capitalization effort is coupled with a contract between ACB and ACCION International (ACCION) in which the latter of the two will provide short-term technical assistance and a senior management team. Continue Reading »

A Conversation with 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus

2:30 PM – 4:30 PM, June 7, 2008, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, Massachusetts

As a part of its series of public affairs forums, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (JFK Library) will host Dr. Muhammad Yunus for a discussion about his book, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism to be moderated by Dr. Lincoln C. Chen, the founder of the Global Equity Initiative (GEI) at Harvard University and a Commissioner at the Commission on Human Security (CHS). The event will include a question and answer session with the audience followed by a book signing. The forum is free and open to the public and registration is required to guarantee a seat. Those interested may register online or by calling +1 (617) 514-1643. Continue Reading »

Earlier this year, the Centrale de Communications Luxembourg (CCLux), a subsidiary of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, began listing the Luxembourg Fund Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) Microfinance Label as a searchable classification on its online Consultation Portal. For users of CCLux, this means that they can now quickly and easily identify microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) which have been approved by LuxFLAG. Continue Reading »

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reports in its list of recent transactions that the responsAbility Global Microfinance Fund (rAGMF) financed USD 750,000 in loans to the Foundation for International Community Assistance Azerbaijan (FINCA Azerbaijan) on February 27, 2008, USD 1 million to FINCA MicroCredit Company (FMCC) of Kyrgyzstan on March 17, 2008, and USD 1.5 million to FINCA Georgia on March 19, 2008. The transaction to FINCA Azerbaijan is not to be confused with a separate responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF) loan taking place on the same date for the exact same amount, which was reported on by MicroCapital here. Continue Reading »

The London-based charity, the MicroLoan Foundation (MLF), is currently expanding its fundraising programs in both the United States and Australia, and in the former, will also be targeting the youth through educational programs conducted by the newly formed MicroLoan Foundation USA (MLF USA) in the Boston, Massachusetts area. As reported in The Boston Globe, “Small Change, Big Changes” is the name of the program and it will be taught once a week by volunteer college students from Boston College (BC) and possibly Boston University (BU) and Northeastern University (NU) as well. Continue Reading »

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reports in its list of recent transactions that the responsAbility Microfinance Leaders Fund (rAMLF) financed USD 500,000 in loans to Thaneakea Phum (Cambodia) (TPC) on February 6, 2008, USD 303,092 to Catalyst Microfinance Investors (CMI) on February 7, 2008, USD 929,000 to ASP Financiera (ASP) on February 20, 2008, and USD 750,000 to the Foundation for International Community Assistance Azerbaijan (FINCA Azerbaijan) on February 27, 2008. Continue Reading »

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reports in its list of recent transactions that AfriCap Microfinance Fund (AfriCap) made a USD 1.1 million equity investment in the newly established Société de Financement de la Petite Entreprise (SOFIPE), a microfinance institution (MFI) in Burkina Faso, on March 1st, 2008. Continue Reading »